"Sharp, quirky, and occasionally nettlesome", Walking the Berkshires is my personal blog, an eclectic weaving of human narrative, natural history, and other personal passions with the Berkshire and Litchfield Hills as both its backdrop and point of departure. I am interested in how land and people, past and present manifest in the broader landscape and social fabric of our communities. The opinions I express here are mine alone. Never had ads, never will.

March 30, 2007

Chelsea Moaning

News from across the Pond:

Three fans of English Premier League champions Chelsea were evicted during a match at Tottenham Hotspur and banned by the team for throwing celery onto the field. Apparently this sort of hooliganism has become all too common with Chelsea fans, and the authorities had to put their foot down:

"Chelsea had warned their fans three days before the replay against throwing celery during matches, saying it was a criminal offence and that anyone caught could be banned.

The unlikely warning had followed referee reports which mentioned celery-throwing at two previous Chelsea matches and which were being investigated by the Football Association.

Though celery has recently been landing on the pitch, Chelsea fans have been throwing it among themselves, and singing an unprintable song about the vegetable, for more than two decades."

The English are not like us. The BBC, after all, banned the Beatles "A Day In The Life" for the line "I'd love to turn you on" while we put Howard Stern in space. And I'm not at all sure we would consider this fan chant unprintable, though it is probably NSFW so you should listen on your own time.

Be that as it may, it is safe to say that American sports fans wouldn't have any idea what to do with celery at a stadium, unless it's dipped in blue cheese as a chaser for Buffalo Wings.